William Sowerby (1799–1875) was an English cleric who served in Cumberland before moving to New South Wales, Australia.
He was the first Anglican priest at Goulburn and took a keen interest in the education, health and social welfare of the local population.
At the age of 16, after clerical tutelage, he became a school teacher and in 1823, he entered St Bees College to study for the ministry.
[1] It is apparent that Sowerby had a close association with the emerging campaigner for better architectural education and professional status, William Wallen (1807-1888).
During the early 1840s, Sowerby kept a school for 'the sons of highly respectable families' and took a keen interest in the institutions of the growing town.